Hearing Houka's troubled words, Orochimaru merely said, "I trust you'll do your best. After all, over in the Land of Snow... heh heh."
What a shameless bastard. Even at a time like this, he still hadn't forgotten to threaten him.
Houka curled his lip, but his tone was utterly serious and righteous. "Don't worry. We've worked together for so long—do you still not trust me?"
Orochimaru turned back and glanced at him.
But Houka was currently wearing an artificial face mask and wrapped in bandages. Orochimaru's pair of golden vertical pupils weren't all-seeing eyes—how could he possibly see through to Houka's real expression?
Houka immediately returned a sincere look.
Orochimaru was apparently moved beyond words and simply attacked.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Five or six venomous snakes shot from his hands, flicking their tongues as they lunged toward Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hatake Sakumo, and Jiraiya.
Hatake Sakumo's figure flickered, instantly turning into an afterimage and vanishing from where he stood. Several intermittent flashes of white blade light appeared in the air, making people's eyes ache. The venomous snakes flying through the air had no power to resist beneath those blade flashes. Blood sprayed as they were cut into two or three pieces and fell to the ground, twisting and struggling.
Hatake Sakumo did not slow down, charging straight at Orochimaru.
Houka immediately formed Hand Seals. "Fire Release—Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
Boom!
Blazing flames surged forth, instantly becoming a wall of fire over twenty meters wide as it rolled forward.
Hiruzen Sarutobi swung his hand and cast off his Hokage robe, revealing his shinobi attire. His thin body erupted with a formidable aura. "Water Release—Water Severing Wave!!"
A thin jet of water, like a high-pressure water cannon, instantly "dug" out a narrow passage through the twenty-meter wall of flames, piercing clean through from